LSAT – Legal School Admission Test

Passage 1

The following passage was written in the late 1980s.

The struggle to obtain legal recognition of aboriginal rights is a difficult one, and even if a
right is written into the law there is no guarantee that the future will not bring changes to
the law that undermine the right. For this reason, the federal government of Canada in
1982 extended constitutional protection to those aboriginal rights already recognized under
the law. This protection was extended to the Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples, the three
groups generally thought to comprise the aboriginal population in Canada. But this
decision has placed on provincial courts the enormous burden of interpreting and
translating the necessarily general constitutional language into specific rulings. The result
has been inconsistent recognition and establishment of aboriginal rights, despite the
continued efforts of aboriginal peoples to raise issues concerning their rights.

Aboriginal rights in Canada are defined by the constitution as aboriginal peoples’ rights to
ownership of land and its resources, the inherent right of aboriginal societies to self-
government, and the right to legal recognition of indigenous customs. But difficulties arise
in applying these broadly conceived rights. For example, while it might appear
straightforward to affirm legal recognition of indigenous customs, the exact legal meaning
of “indigenous” is extremely difficult to interpret. The intent of the constitutional protection
is to recognize only long-standing traditional customs, not those of recent origin; provincial
courts therefore require aboriginal peoples to provide legal documentation that any
customs they seek to protect were practiced sufficiently long ago—a criterion defined in
practice to mean prior to the establishment of British sovereignty over the specific territory.
However, this requirement makes it difficult for aboriginal societies, which often relied on
oral tradition rather than written records, to support their claims.

Furthermore, even if aboriginal peoples are successful in convincing the courts that
specific rights should be recognized, it is frequently difficult to determine exactly what
these rights amount to. Consider aboriginal land claims. Even when aboriginal ownership
of specific lands is fully established, there remains the problem of interpreting the meaning
of that “ownership.” In a 1984 case in Ontario, an aboriginal group claimed that its property
rights should be interpreted as full ownership in the contemporary sense of private
property, which allows for the sale of the land or its resources. But the provincial court
instead ruled that the law had previously recognized only the aboriginal right to use the
land and therefore granted property rights so minimal as to allow only the bare survival of
the community. Here, the provincial court’s ruling was excessively conservative in its
assessment of the current law. Regrettably, it appears that this group will not be
successful unless it is able to move its case from the provincial courts into the Supreme
Court of Canada, which will be, one hopes, more insistent upon a satisfactory application
of the constitutional reforms.

C Constitutional language aimed at protecting aboriginal rights in Canada has so far left
the protection of these rights uncertain due to the difficult task of interpreting this
language.
E The language of the Canadian constitution should more carefully delineate the instances
to which reforms apply. arguing that there is no evidence that
the Dutch tulip market really involved a speculative bubble.Question 1
Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the passage?
A The overly conservative rulings of Canada’s provincial courts have been a barrier to
constitutional reforms intended to protect aboriginal rights.
D Constitutional reforms meant to protect aboriginal rights in Canada have in fact been
used by some provincial courts to limit these rights. Common bulb varieties. The price increase is then followed by a dramatic decline in price. sold for very low prices.
D Provincial courts should be given no authority to decide cases involving questions of
aboriginal rights. According to Mackay. But the
economist Peter Garber challenges Mackay’s view.
Passage 2
In economics.
C Aboriginal communities should be granted full protection of all of their customs.
E Efforts by aboriginal rights advocates to uphold constitutional reforms in Canada may be
more successful if heard by the Supreme Court rather than by the provincial courts. the term “speculative bubble” refers to a large upward move in an asset’s
price driven not by the asset’s fundamentals—that is.
By the seventeenth century. For example. the prices of all the
. and the “bubble” is said to have burst. and prices of many varieties surged upward from November 1636 through
January 1637. Mackay further states that in February 1637 prices suddenly collapsed. By 1739. and a market had developed in which rare varieties of
bulbs sold at high prices.S.000 in 1999.
Question 2
The passage provides evidence to suggest that the author would be most likely to assent
to which one of the following proposals?
A Aboriginal peoples in Canada should not be answerable to the federal laws of
Canada.
bulbs could not be sold at 10 percent of their peak values.
B Oral tradition should sometimes be considered legal documentation of certain
indigenous customs. $11. due to a loss
in confidence that the price will continue to rise.
According to Charles Mackay’s classic nineteenth-century account. the Netherlands had become a center of cultivation and
development of new tulip varieties. the seventeenth-
century Dutch tulip market provides an example of a speculative bubble. a Semper Augustus bulb sold in 1625 for an
amount of gold worth about U. on the other
hand. by the earnings derivable from the
asset—but rather by mere speculation that someone else will be willing to pay a higher
price for it.
B The overwhelming burden placed on provincial courts of interpreting constitutional
language in Canada has halted efforts by aboriginal peoples to gain full ownership
of land. by 1636 rapid price rises attracted
speculators.

as the prized bulbs become more readily available through
reproduction from the original bulb. But he argues that this episode should not be
described as a speculative bubble. the dramatic rise in the price of some original tulip
bulbs could have resulted as tulips in general. after paying a very high price for a new painting. must sell the remaining tickets at a very low price
. after less than 30 years. applied for the job in the belief that there would be less competition
for it
B an art dealer who. which one of the
following is most analogous to someone who bought a tulip bulb of a certain variety in that
market at a very high price.
Question 1
The phrase “standard pricing pattern” as used in the middle of the last paragraph most
nearly means a pricing pattern
A against which other pricing patterns are to be measured
B that conforms to a commonly agreed-upon criterion
C that is merely acceptable
D that regularly recurs in certain types of cases
E that serves as an exemplar
Question 2
Given Garber’s account of the seventeenth-century Dutch tulip market. and certain varieties in particular. after buying a box of rare motorcycle parts at a very high price. Garber argues that a standard pricing pattern
occurs for new varieties of flowers. a rapid rise and eventual fall of tulip
bulb prices need not indicate a speculative bubble.most prized kinds of bulbs had fallen to no more than one two-hundredth of 1 percent of
Semper Augustus’s peak price. is
forced to sell them at a much lower price because of the sudden availability of
cheap substitute parts
D a publisher who pays an extremely high price for a new novel only to sell copies at
a price affordable to nearly everyone
E an airline that. even if each individual descendent bulb commands a very low
price. Given that an original bulb can generate a reasonable return on investment even if
the price of descendent bulbs decreases dramatically. after learning that many others had withdrawn their applications for
a particular job. bulbs
sell at reproduction cost. became
fashionable. their price falls rapidly. However. But this does not mean that the high prices of original bulbs are
irrational.
Garber acknowledges that bulb prices increased dramatically from 1636 to 1637 and
eventually reached very low levels. When a particularly prized variety is developed. for the increase and eventual decline in bulb prices can
be explained in terms of the fundamentals. after selling most of the tickets for seats on a plane at a very high
price. for earnings derivable from the millions of bulbs descendent from the original
bulbs can be very high. sells it at a very
low price because it is now considered to be an inferior work
C someone who. only to sell a bulb of that variety at a much lower price?
A someone who. Thus. its
original bulb sells for a high price.

The
IPCC report thus clearly identifies a pattern of climatic response to human activities in
the climatological record. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. In fact. it is possible
that a warmer sea surface temperature will cause more water to evaporate.
Passage A
In January 1995 a vast section of ice broke off the Larsen ice shelf in Antarctica.
According to scientific estimates. sea levels will rise as the water heats up and
expands. while El Niño. it will precipitate out as snow. this view also contains exaggerations and misstatements.
However. and record flooding—have
been emerging around the world for several years. and displacing millions of people. and
has sometimes resulted in unreasonable environmental policies. While
it contains some facts. While
this occurrence. Such a rise could
submerge vast coastal areas.
causing the ice sheets to grow. a periodic
. Furthermore. if the earth warms. Certainly. global warming will cause the polar ice to melt. prolonged droughts.
According to this view. furthermore. If the polar ice caps melt. There is some evidence that melting has occurred.
This view also exaggerates the impact that human activity has on the planet. flooding entire regions. thereby establishing without doubt that global warming can
no longer be attributed solely to natural climate variability. we need to have better knowledge about the
hydrological cycle before predicting dire consequences as a result of recent increases
in global temperatures.Passages A and B
The following passages were adapted from articles published in the mid-1990s. natural events appear to be far more
important. raising global
sea levels. While
human activity may be a factor in global warming.
there is also evidence that the Antarctic ice sheets are growing. Certainly. more water will be added to the oceans. for example. there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding a potential rise in sea
levels. raising
sea levels even further. destroying crops.
Late in 1995 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that it
had detected the “fingerprint” of human activity as a contributor to the warming of the
earth’s atmosphere. however. with potentially irreversible consequences. other symptoms—more
intense storms. an extreme view of global warming has developed.
Passage B
Over the past two decades.
caused a decrease in the average global temperature. sea-level rise resulting from global
warming will reach 3 feet (1 meter) within the next century. the direct result of a regional warming trend that began in the 1940s. panel scientists attributed such warming directly to
the increasing quantities of carbon dioxide released by our burning of fossil fuels. and when
wind carries the moisture-laden air over the land. extended heat waves.
may be the most spectacular manifestation yet of serious climate changes occurring
on the planet as a consequence of atmospheric heating.

regardless of human
intervention. including droughts and major flooding.perturbation in the ocean’s temperature and circulation. Of even greater importance to the
earth’s climate are variations in the sun’s radiation and in the earth’s orbit.
Question 1
Which one of the following questions is central to both passages?
A How has an increase in the burning of fossil fuels raised the earth’s
temperature?
B To what extent can global warming be attributed to human activity?
C What steps should be taken to reduce the rate of global warming?
D What kinds of human activities increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere?
E To what extent is global warming caused by variations in the sun’s radiation and the
earth’s orbit?
Question 2
Which one of the following is mentioned in passage B but not in passage A as a
possible consequence of global warming?
A an increase in the size of the Antarctic ice sheet
B a decrease in the amount of snowfall
C a falling of ocean sea levels
D an increase in the severity of heat waves
E an increase in the frequency of major flooding
Question 3
The authors of the two passages would be most likely to disagree over
A whether or not any melting of the polar ice caps has occurred
B whether natural events can cause changes in global climate conditions
C whether warmer air temperatures will be likely to raise oceanic water temperatures
D the extent to which natural climate variability is responsible for global warming
E the extent to which global temperatures have risen in recent decades
Question 4
Which one of the phenomena cited in passage A is an instance of the kind of “evidence”
referred to in the middle of the second paragraph of passage B?
A the breaking off of part of the Larsen ice shelf in 1995
B higher regional temperatures since the 1940s
C increases in storm intensities over the past several years
D the increased duration of droughts in recent years
E the increased duration of heat waves over the past decade
Question 5
The author of passage B would be most likely to make which one of the following criticisms
about the predictions cited in passage A concerning a rise in sea level?
. causes extreme global climatic
events. Climate
variability has always existed and will continue to do so.

an article detailing the impact of innovative irrigation
techniques in water-scarce agricultural areas
E a research report on crime and the decline of various neighborhoods from 1960 to
1985.
B These predictions are supported only by inconclusive evidence that some melting of
the polar ice caps has occurred.
E These predictions assume a continuing increase in global temperatures that may not
occur. while
passage B confines itself to proven fact.
E Passage A and passage B use the same evidence to draw diametrically opposed
conclusions. an article that describes practical applications for nuclear power
in the energy production and medical fields
B an article arguing that corporate patronage biases scientific studies about the impact
of pollution on the ozone layer.
C Passage A warns about the effects of certain recent phenomena.
Question 6
The relationship between passage A and passage B is most analogous to the relationship
between the documents described in which one of the following?
A a research report that raises estimates of damage done by above-ground
nuclear testing. an article arguing
that naturally occurring cycles of extinction are the most important factor in
species loss
D an article describing the effect of prolonged drought on crop production in the
developing world. A These predictions incorrectly posit a causal relationship between the warming
of the earth and rising sea levels. an article describing psychological research on the most important
predictors of criminal behavior
Question 7
Which one of the following most accurately describes the relationship between the
argument made in passage A and the argument made in passage B?
A Passage A draws conclusions that are not based on hard evidence.
.
B Passage A relies on evidence that dates back to the 1940s. a study suggesting that aerosols in the
atmosphere may counteract damaging effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide
on the ozone layer
C an article citing evidence that the spread of human development into pristine natural
areas is causing catastrophic increases in species extinction. while passage B relies
on much more recent evidence. while passage B
argues that some inferences based on those phenomena are unfounded.
D These predictions rely on an inadequate understanding of the hydrological cycle.
D Passage A makes a number of assertions that passage B demonstrates to be false.
C These predictions exaggerate the degree to which global temperatures have
increased in recent decades.